~~
Trinity
~~
The magic was pulling me but I could still make out the room that I was laying in. I could still feel Reece laying next to me. I could feel his hand gently stroking up and down my arm. I tried to call out to him, to let him know what was happening, but I couldn't do anything. I was just free falling through space, yet somehow tethered to reality.
I fell and fell for what felt like a long time. But oddly enough it looked like I was moving up not down. Was I falling up? If I could have turned my head to look away from my room with Reece then I would have. But no, I was locked in place.
The view was still there before me, but much smaller. I had stopped moving but it now felt like I was floating in the air, weightless and bobbing up and down slightly. This was worse than when I made myself levitate earlier.
"We meet again." A male voice reverberated around me, seemingly to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. The voice was deep and familiar, and seemed to rattle my bones.
"Thoth?" I asked with shock filling my voice.
"We need to speak to you, young one." Nehalennia's smooth voice joined Thoth's.
"What is going on?" I asked them.
"You exhausted yourself." Thoth spoke immediately.
"We're happy that you are learning and taking things seriously, but you need to learn when you're at your limits."
"So this will be the extent of my power?" I asked with sadness filling my voice. I had done a lot, yes, but being Queen I had hoped for more.
"Not in the least." Thoth's voice held a soothing edge. "But you are just learning. And you have been going nonstop for the last few days. Your body is not ready for that yet. You need to work your way up, so to speak."
"What will my capacity be?" I asked him.
"As you are the Queen of my people, you will need to have the highest quantity of magic possible. You will have more power than any other witch or warlock. But your body is not yet used to using it. That is why you need to move slowly." Thoth was being kind in his words but was ultimately just telling me I was stupidly powerful but I was equally stupid for rushing into things. Great, this was going to be easy. Not!
"You have been doing well, so worry not. You handled those traitors with perfection. I did not even need to send you my guidance. That means you are learning how to behave like a leader. Trust those close to you, the team you have is one of great talent and wisdom."
"Thank you Nehalennia." I put as much sincerity into my voice as I could. It meant so much to me to know that I had earned her approval.
"You are making great strides. And we thank you for learning your histories. Please, make sure you guide our peoples, lead them into a new life of unity." Thoth's voice was wistful as if he were speaking of a dream he has had for a long time.
"We trust you, young one. That is why we chose you."
"Was it on purpose?" I asked them, feeling as if they were getting ready to leave.
"Was what on purpose?" Thoth wondered.
"Did you each decide to choose me coincidentally or was it planned?"
"From the moment of your conception, there have been no coincidences." Nehalennia's words cause a shiver to run up my spine.
"There were things that we did not plan for. That is for certain. But we knew the eventual outcome." Thoth added.
"Did you know my mother was going to kill herself? Did you know my father and his goons were going to kidnap and torture me?" I was getting angry now, my words coming in a rush.
"Those were not planned for, no. We knew you would be the successor for the both of us. And that with the power you receive from us there will always be someone there to try and steal it from you."
"Is there another traitor among us?" I needed to know this, we had to keep ourselves safe and protected.
"He is not among you yet." Thoth answered.
"For now he is nothing more than a shadow looming in your future." Nehalennia added.
"It is possible that he may never cross your path."
"But if he does, you will be ready for him." Her words brought the discussion to an end. I felt them slipping away from me.
With their departure it was like the magic holding me in the air snapped. I felt myself freefalling all the way back to my bed. The scene rushed up to me so fast that I wanted to scream, but I held my tongue.
My body didn't move at all, but I felt my mind jolt with the abrupt landing. Light was visible around the edges of my vision. The darkened curtains letting just the barest traces of light through.
It was already morning. How long did I spend talking to them? Was the time mostly spent falling up and falling back down? This night was a blur. And I still felt so exhausted. Dammit, didn't they tell me I was too tired already? Now they go and keep me up all night. When am I supposed to sleep?
I felt Reece stirring next to me, having woken for the day. He kissed the top of my head and slid out of the bed. He probably thought I was still asleep and didn't want to wake me up.
I heard him head across the room and into the bathroom. He left the door open so I was able to hear the shower start and I could even smell his soap when he was washing. It was a special bottle with cinnamon and chocolate that Lila had bought for him after they finally pried out what he smelled like to me. He also had one that smelled like the forest after a rainstorm, that one was my personal favorite.
When I heard the shower stop I listened to what it was he was doing. I heard the slide of the towel against his body. If I was going to be stuck imobile as an inanimate object then I would have preferred to be his towel. Then I could have still touched him even if I couldn't move.
I just continued to listen on, imagining what he looked like during the different stages of his morning routine. I wasn't scared this time like I was the last time. I had exhausted myself to the point of being a vegetable before. But I could be brought out of it, I just needed to wait.
~~
Reece
~~
It surprised me that my Little Bunny didn't get up when I left the bed. But I guess that just showed how tired she was. She's been working so hard these last few days, and it's taken a lot out of her.
I started to get ready for the day. I had decided that it would just be best to wake her up after my shower. She needed the sleep.
The shower was typical, though I wished she was there with me. Showers with my sexy wife are always a good time, even if it's just a shower and nothing more.
After the shower I followed the typical routine: dry off, apply deodorant, get dressed, brush teeth. Just the typical things. It only took me half an hour for the whole process, but that was a half an hour more that she got to sleep.
I snuck back into the room and slid into the bed next to her. She was so warm and the touch of her was so inviting that I wanted to just lay there with her, but it was almost time for breakfast. With a wistful sigh I pushed past that disappointment and shook her shoulder slightly.
She was laying on her side, face slanted down toward the bed and her hair was falling in her face. I gave into my temptation to stroke her face in the guise of pushing her hair out of the way.
When the hair was pushed back I saw her eyes were open.
"If you were already awake why didn't you say anything?" I asked her with a smile on my face. But she didn't respond. She didn't move. She didn't blink. "Trinity?" I called her name.
She was breathing. I knew she was, I could feel the air moving on my hand where it rested on her face. But why wasn't she moving.
"Not again." I cried out when I realized what had happened. "Trinity, how did this happen?" I asked her.
She had told me that when this happened before, she could hear everything, feel everything, smell it all too. She just couldn't move. She was basically catatonic but fully awake and aware.
"How are we going to fix this? There isn't anyone here that knows how to fix this." I could feel the panic in my voice. I guess I could summon Griffin here, but that would mean she would be like this for another day.
I could feel the emotions welling within me. I was powerless to help her when this happened. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to fix her. I wanted to wake her up. But how could I?
I leaned forward and pulled her into my arms. She was warm and soft and so wonderful to hold. But she didn't move herself to fit against me, she didn't wrap her arms around my neck or grab my shirt for balance. She was there but not there.
I held her close and kissed her lips softly, gently. I thought of the way she usually responded. I thought of the fire that burned in her soul and the love I always saw in her eyes. I needed that now.
"God dammit, if I am the warlock king, the king to Thoth's people, why don't I have the power to wake you up?" I demanded of no one in particular. I just pressed my lips against her again and kept thinking to myself. 'Wake up. Wake up Trinity. Wake up Little Bunny.' I said the words over and over in my head, but my frustration was growing.
"Wake up dammit." I yelled to the room. My words were followed by an eerie red glowing mist. The mist swept from me to surround us both. "Wake up Trinity." I begged her. This time the mist swirled around her head for a second before spreading across her entire body.
The next thing I knew, her eyes fluttered. She was awake.
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you." I buried my face in her hair and just continued to say the words over and over. She was awake.
"Fido, you dolt. There is a healer here you know." She giggled at me. She clearly wasn't as scared as I was.
"She's just a nurse, she couldn't wake up you like Griffin did." I reminded her.
"She's not just a nurse anymore. I granted her the same power as Griffin."
"When? I don't remember this happening."
"Yesterday." She smiled smugly.
"Well no reason you were so exhausted. You trained, granted a blessing, and punished those pieces of shit all in the same day." I was glaring at her.
"Plus, I spoke to Nehalennia and Thoth last night. They pulled me in for a meeting."
"Of course they did. You need to rest, you're not getting out of bed at all today." I would see to that personally.
I called Vincent in and told him what had happened. They would train without me today, I was needed elsewhere. I had to take care of my Little Bunny after all.